How should I go about making this trim look better? It was peeling off and looking nasty, so I just pulled off most of it, but now there's just this white undertrim.
What's the best way to make it look better without spending too much? Should I just paint it with vinyl paint?
I need mine fix too, mine is starting to peel and crack. I think it could be possible with paint, perhaps those kind of paint for like the dash and then you can just peel the paint off whenever you want.forgot wat its call.
Depends what its made out of. It looks like plastic. I have painted plastic with spray cans and with gun, gun gives better results. If you don't have that kind of equipment, you can get good results with a spray can too. In my experience, paint for plastic works worse on plastic than normal paint IMO. I would use some oil and grease remover to clean it up, spray some adhesion promoter to help the paint adhere to the plastic. Get a can of paint that closest matches the beige color and spray it on. The duller the finish, the softer the paint, so it will be more flexible, but not as durable. Gloss or semi-gloss will have more strength, but might look odd compared to the dull shene of the rest of the interior.
You can also try paint for vinyl, it is more compatible with different materials. for that matter a piece of vinyl cut to size could look good on that too. Just make sure to clean the surface very well.
of course if its made of metal that's the easiest. Sand it smooth, put some primer and paint on and call it a day. Hope this helps.
finkle1359, thanks for the pointers, I was actually getting ready to ask the same question, so this thread is very timely!
I actually hadn't considered painting it... It's a soft, almost rubbery vinyl, so I think an eggshell or matte (eggshell would probably look better) vinyl paint would probably work best.
I think rather than try to color match, it's probably best to go with black. Then again, I'm planning on painting my whole interior black eventually, so that's an easy decision for me. Dying seats and carpet red (over the patterned gray, so it'll retain the pattern and come out a nice, deep, not-too-saturated red) and adding red LED strip lighting in a few accent areas (switched, of course). It's gonna look pretty sick, I think.
Still trying to decide what to do to the exterior, though.
Buuuuuuuuuuut, this isn't my thread. I think I'll go start that one now!
__________________
'00 Corolla - Daily driver and work-in-progress.
'99 Corolla - Currently used for tool storage, until I either complete or destroy the '00.
But it's a part we can get? Good to know, only one of mine is messed up, so that would save me the trouble of breaking the other 3 off to match.
__________________
'00 Corolla - Daily driver and work-in-progress.
'99 Corolla - Currently used for tool storage, until I either complete or destroy the '00.
If its something that can be popped off easily, I would hit up the local junkyard and have a look. Ebay is also an option. Some people put the entire car up and you e-mail them with the part you want, and they put just that part on as an auction. Might be cheaper than the dealer.
Good luck with the interior color change. I tried changing the color of seats once. The color just rubbed off on my pants. I would love to change around mine more, but I stopped at the hard plastic parts, anything that padded or flexible is harder to change color.
Good luck with the interior color change. I tried changing the color of seats once. The color just rubbed off on my pants. I would love to change around mine more, but I stopped at the hard plastic parts, anything that padded or flexible is harder to change color.
It's a multi-step process. You have to steam clean and thoroughly dry the fabric, then saturate the fabric with dye, simply spraying the surface isn't enough. It has to soak the fabric and for, best results, be brushed in. Once that dries, any loose pigment needs to be vacuumed from the surface, then the dye needs to be set with distilled vinegar (most dyes, certainly the ones I plan to use, some other dyes have a harsher setting process). Of course, that stinks, so it needs to be allowed to dry, then steam cleaned again to remove the vinegar smell.
After all that, you probably want to cover the seats with a towel for a week or two to pick up any residual pigment that didn't set. Given that we're working with acrylic fibers, applying heat, in the form of a hair dryer (a heat gun might do more harm than good), during the dying, setting, and final cleaning, should help "soften up" the fibers so they'll more readily accept the pigment.
It can be done, it's just a process and takes a fair bit of patience.
Worst case, I'm decent with a needle, I can stitch together some dark red velvet covers, which then get permanently sewn to the seats. The carpet is another issue altogether.
__________________
'00 Corolla - Daily driver and work-in-progress.
'99 Corolla - Currently used for tool storage, until I either complete or destroy the '00.
That would explain why mine did not work. Thanks for the detailed write up, if I ever decide to do something like that again. It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth having to get all of that stuff off my jeans. Oddly it was more work getting it off my pants than it was getting it off the car.
If its something that can be popped off easily, I would hit up the local junkyard and have a look
I checked out up to nine 98-00 corollas at the yunk yard last sunday, and all of them had that door trim messed up, just like mine lol... can you say unlucky?
And yes, we can get them new from the dealership!
__________________
2000 Toyota Corolla VE 3 speed Auto
2002 Ford Explorer XLT V8
I also have this issue, with just white rubber/vinyl strip where the plastic once was, and I've seen other Corollas with the same problem. I've peeled off about 75% of mine...it was getting in the way more often than helping out. My girl suggested it may be a weatherstrip of some sort, but I don't think so. It seems like putting new ones in would be pretty tedious work. I've never thought to paint it, but it's a good idea. I can see how one would wanna do a black trim, I wonder how it would look with the tan interior, having a black strip around the doors.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
ToyotaNation.com is an independent Toyota/Lexus enthusiast website. ToyotaNation.com is not sponsored by or in any way affiliated with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The Toyota, Lexus and Scion names and logos are trademarks owned by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Linear Mode
